物换星移

wù-huàn-xīng-yí

literal meaning: times change and stars shift
translated: everything changes over time

This saying first appeared in a poem by Wang Bo (王勃), one of the four great poets of the Tang Dynasty. Since its meaning is the same as the literal translation of the characters, it is not exactly an idiom, but as a commonly-used phrase it is used to refer to the passage of time in a poetic way. In alluding to the poem, the it evokes a sense of slow but steady change over long periods of time.

This saying first appeared in a poem by Wang Bo (王勃), one of the four great poets of the Tang Dynasty. Since its meaning is the same as the literal translation of the characters, it is not exactly an idiom, but as a commonly-used phrase it is used to refer to the passage of time in a poetic way. In alluding to the poem, the it evokes a sense of slow but steady change over long periods of time.

物

wù

thing, matter

换

huàn

trade, change

星

xīng

star

移

yí

move, shift

Examples

那英 - 雪国远方

Na Ying - Xue Guo Yuan Fang

物换星移旧事重唱

Wùhuàn-xīngyí jiùshì chóngchàng

(Though) stars shift and times change, the past sings again

This lyric is part of the original sound track (OST) in a TV show where the main character travels to a remote village of historical significance and investigates the circumstances surrounding his father's death several years prior. In this context, this saying is used to explain that while many things have changed with time, the events of the past are still of special importance in the present.

More

斗转星移

dǒu zhuǎn xīng yí

This idiom has the exact same meaning and can also be written as 星移斗转 (xīng yí dǒu zhuǎn). This saying literally means "the Big Dipper has turned, and the stars have moved". The full name of the constellation is 北斗星 (běi dǒu xīng, literally "northern cup-shaped stars").